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Sentence structure
Basic structure
The general rule in English is that a simple declarative sentence should be
structured
Subjec – Verb – Object.
For example:
The lawyer drafted the contract.
In this sentence, the lawyer is the subject, drafted is the verb, and contract is the
object.
Subject
The subject is the part of the sentence that usually comes first and on which the rest
of the sentence is predicated. It is typically – but not always – a noun phrase. In
traditional grammar it is said to be the „doer'' of the verbal action.
A subject is essential in English sentence structure – so much so that a dummy
subject (usually „it'') must sometimes be introduced (e.g. It is raining).
However, they are unnecessary in imperative sentences (e.g. Listen!), and in some
informal contexts (e.g. See you soon).
Verb
Verbs are traditionally described as „doing'' words. They are usually essential to
clause structure. Verbs may be classified either as main or auxiliary.
Auxiliary verbs are traditionally described as „helping verbs'', and include be, do and
have. Compare: I bought oranges. I have been buying oranges.
Tenses / Past Tenses
One of the main difficulties experienced by non-native speakers in using tenses
concerns which form of past tense to use in different situations.
Past-perfect tense
This tense refers to a past action which is completed before a more recent time in the
past, and is formed using had. For example: In 1998 I lived in New York. In 1997 I
had decided to move to the United States the following year.
Simple past
This tense refers to completed actions which occurred in the past, and is formed with
the ending -ed. For example: I lived in New York.
Past continuous
This tense refers to an action which occurred in the past and is not described as
having been completed. For example: In 1998 I was living in New York. A common
mistake made by non-native speakers is to use the past continuous when the simple
past or past-perfect tense should be used. In legal contexts this can easily lead to
ambiguity. For example, to say „In 1998 I was working as a commercial lawyer''
leaves it unclear as to whether you still work as a commercial lawyer.
Exercises
Read through the passage below and insert the correct past tense forms.
In 1989, Statchem _____ (open) its first chemical plant in Thailand. Two years before
this the company _____ (begin) negotiations with Kemble Inc., but these eventually
_____ (fall through). At about the same time, during the mid to late eighties,
Statchem _____ (be involved in) in the development of plastics technology and
_____ (spend) considerable sums of money on research and development. Statchem
_____ (hope) that this investment would result in an increased market share going
into the new decade. Unfortunately, this strategy failed _____ (to pay off). Due to the
onset of a global recession, the market _____ (shrink) and as a result all the money
and effort that Statchem _____ (put in) the project _____ (waste).
Object
The object is usually a noun phrase. In a simple declarative sentence it follows the
verb. The object is usually said to be „affected'' by the verb. Objects may be either
direct or indirect.
In the sentence I owe you nothing, you is the direct object and nothing the indirect
object.
Complex sentences
In more complex sentences, it may be necessary to introduce other parts of speech.
These include:
Adjectives
An adjective is a word used to describe a noun or make its meaning clearer, e.g. A
green car. An efficient engine. Adjectives go before the nouns they qualify. For
example: The commercial lawyer drafted the sales contract.
Adverbs
Adverbs are words or phrases which add more information about place, time, manner
or degree to an adjective, verb, other adverb or sentence (e.g. greatly, very,
fortunately, efficiently). Therefore, adverbs may be added to modify the meaning of
our example: The commercial lawyer efficiently drafted the sales contract.
Linking clauses
In order to build more complex sentences, it is necessary to find ways of linking
clauses together. One way of achieving this is by using prepositions (in, at, on, to,
from etc) or conjunctions (and, or, but, since, when, because, although etc). For
example: The commercial lawyer efficiently drafted the sales contract for the
company, but the client requested various amendments and additions.
Punctuation can be used to coordinate clauses in a sentence. For example: The
commercial lawyer efficiently drafted the sales contract, the receptionist faxed it to
the client, and the client approved the draft.
In addition, relative pronouns (e.g. who, whom, whose, which, that) provide a
convenient means of linking sentences together. For example: The commercial
lawyer efficiently drafted the sales contract, which the client read and approved.
(Forum Legal:English by lawyers for lawyers)